Good for all the wrong reasons

Apple's Mac vs. PC spots always grab me. They've been running for about six months now, and I still perk up every time I see the white background and hear the music-box muzak.

It has been well-established the actor who plays the Mac comes off as beyond smug. There is even a well-circulated parody of the ad campaign that gets to this.

Which is OK, I guess. Apple is a know-it-all type of company -- there's no point in running away from that. And the ads do effectively point out the comparative advantages a Mac has over a generally less expensive PC.

The problem with the ads is the PC, played by humorist and occasional Daily Show contributor John Hodgman, is funny and charming.

So not only has Apple confirmed their smugness stereotype, but they have done the impossible and assinged a likable personalty to the spread-sheet factory that is the PC.

Maybe the creators of the ad thought viewers would look at the two actors and prefer identifying with the well-scrubbed but unshaven "hipster" who plays the Mac to Hodgeman's exaggerated, rotund dorkiness as the PC.

My problem with that is anyone who thinks a computer is an extension of himself is probably too stupid to be a reliable customer. I prefer to think of my computer as a friend -- my best friend.

The Mac vs. PC campaign makes me proud to be best friends with a lovable PC -- while I shun the insufferable Mac.

The fact Apple pays for these ads is a tragedy.